Muslims in the Sahel are too poor and isolated to be the Wests enemies. They don’t even have TV, the internet, or radio. No wonder they are merely struggling to survive. Wealthier Muslims who have these things, however, are assuredly our enemies.

Rather, in the end it will be to make Muslim nations poor and starving (and likely, China who will do it) rather than killing them all. But that is another matter.

Contra Wretchard, I do not see a return to the Constitution as possible. The bullet cannot be called back. Already, the 1st, 2nd, and 10th Amendments are dead letters. Meaningless. Congress, as Congressmen, Senators, and Presidents have reminded us, do what they want. Constitution? Lawmakers can do anything, any time, any where.

It does not matter. What the Tea Partiers want, what ordinary people want. Power is power. It won’t be called back, or cast into Mount Doom.

America’s practical advantages include, a lot of natural resources. Still existing technical skills. Ability to mostly feed itself. A mostly well educated population. A still existing military force. NUKES.

This, more than a Constitution that died a long time ago, matters most. Realistically, after things hit the fan, we will see a sort of “Tribune” rule by a series of strong men, a set of Cromwells who run things. Until we get a new set of rules. Just as Cromwell was not replaced by the Divine Right of Kings, so too we won’t go back to Constitutional federalism. Or limited government. Stakes are too high, needs too great.

Just to get everyone back to work and surviving, after a great crisis, will require a central strongman. It always does. Yes, self-organization and independence will be critical. But that does not make Texas send power to Colorado, to use a hypothetical. Or send money, manpower, and resources to the border to stop a collapsing Mexico from simply moving north en-masse. To use another.

We are not unvarnished heroes, and our political opponents unremittant villains. This is not Lord of the Rings. Power is not the One Ring. It is tragic the Constitution is effectively dead, but for good, moral reasons (fighting racism, the legacy of Segregation, and so on) it was killed, bit by bit. You cannot resurrect a corspe. Cromwell was a terrible man (ask any Irishman) but was “good enough” to allow England to survive into something after the Lord Protector.